Construction has begun on Shell Plaza, an eight-story, 123,941-square-foot build-to-suit net lease property in New Orleans’ $1 billion River District mixed-use development that will be the regional headquarters for Shell and the first new Class A office building in the city in more than 35 years.
Cypress Equities, a national real estate investment and development firm, is partnering with New Orleans-based Lauricella Land Co. on the office building at 1600 Convention Center Blvd. Located at the corner of Henderson and Euterpe streets, it will be the first vertical development to be started in the River District, a 39-acre mixed-used neighborhood adjacent to the New Orleans Ernest M. Morial Convention Center.
Shell Plaza is expected to be completed by September 2026. The building will consist of 117,941 square feet of Class A office space fully leased by Shell on floors five to eight. There will be parking on floors two to four and 6,407 square feet of ground-floor retail space. The building will feature column-free floorplates of about 30,000 square feet and include a 3,101-square-foot fitness center.
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“At this point, the ground-floor retail is intended for a restaurant that will serve as a premiere dining destination for visitors to the River District and adjacent convention center as well as Shell employees and guests,” Chris Maguire, Cypress Equities CEO, told Commercial Property Executive. He said a restaurant tenant has not been announced.
Financing Shell Plaza
Capro Capital, a Las Vegas-based real estate private equity firm, is providing equity for the project. While Maguire declined to release details on the total project cost or financing package, a $74.5 million senior loan was originated by the Tannenbaum Capital Group Real Estate platform, a group of affiliated commercial real estate-focused debt funds focused on primary and secondary metropolitan areas of the Southern U.S.
Sunrise Realty Trust Inc. and Southern Realty Trust, both lenders on the TCG Real Estate platform, closed on a total of $64.5 million. SUNS, a Nasdaq-listed mortgage REIT and institutional commercial real estate lender, closed on a $44 million commitment to the $74.5 million senior loan. SRT, a private mortgage REIT which originates CRE debt investments and provides capital to high-quality borrowers and sponsors, closed on a $20 million commitment. The remainder of the loan was syndicated to an unidentified affiliated lending partner.
Building design highlights
Situated on a 1.6-acre parcel, Shell Plaza was designed by global architecture firm Gensler with a glass curtain wall that will complement the history and vibrant culture of New Orleans. The architecture incorporates elements inspired by the Mississippi River’s shipping industry and will feature metal panels and a palette of bronze, metal, glass and concrete. The building’s sustainable design, which includes LEED certification, will include expansive glass facades, a polycarbonate mesh screen for the parking podium and a rooftop garden with views of the river and downtown. There will also be green areas and public spaces on the lower level along with the retail space.
Employees and visitors to Shell Plaza will have expansive views of the Mississippi River and convenient walking access to downtown New Orleans and residential neighborhoods including the Garden District.
Broadmoor LLC is the general contractor and Integrated Logistical Support Inc. of New Orleans is the civil engineering firm for the Shell Plaza project.
Mixed-use district plans
River District Neighborhood Investors LLC is a group of mixed-use and residential developers selected in 2021 by the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center Authority to develop a mixed-use community with sidewalks, bike paths and green spaces designed to revitalize the vacant land along the riverfront. Louis Lauricella, a managing member of Lauricella Land Co., a fourth-generation real estate development firm in New Orleans, is also manager of RDNI.
The largest nonindustrial/oil and gas project in Louisiana history, the River District is expected to generate $43 million of net new annual tax revenues and more than $1 billion in economic activity. In addition to Shell Plaza, plans call for condominiums and apartments, retail space, hotels, restaurants, sports and entertainment venues. Of the anticipated 900 multifamily units, 450 are to be affordable or workforce residences.
